You may be surprised to hear how many single people are entering the housing market and buying a home. The Nation Association of Realtors said in 2012 that 25% of all home purchases last year were made by solo homebuyers.
That may seem a bit surprising as it is often difficult for single-income households to tie up so much of their money in a mortgage payment. But as more people are coming out of college and landing plum jobs, they start to look to build more pieces of their live together. If you can’t find the beautiful wife to start a family, buying your first home is still a great start.
There are some nice perks to buying a home as a single. You are the only person involved in the decision making and can keep that process from being stalled out from disagreements in which house is best. You are the sole borrower on the mortgage, so you know exactly if you can afford the payment on just your income and not worry about another person’s less than stellar credit costing you more.
Solo homebuyers face their fair share of challenges. Qualifying on just one income often can limit your range of houses you can afford and the amount of money you can put down on a home. You also have to balance all your responsibilities yourself, making it hard to find time to look for homes and communicate with your realtor and lender.
Think single women are on the outside looking in terms of the solo homebuyer demographic? In 2012, single women bought homes twice as often as single men. But there are equal obstacles for you as well to overcome when buying a home on your own.
The infographic below does a great job of identifying all the common pitfalls first time homebuyers tend to fall into, whether you are single man or woman or buying a home with another. The key to success is being prepared and keeping open communication with all parties involved. Take a look, and good luck!
Infographic created by First Commerce Financial.
Thanks for sharing, those are great points. We look forward to buying our first house soon!